Crimes Against Nature
by icouldntgetanymorecliche
Summary: Short fic about Maurice being taken away and Belle showing the townspeople the magic mirror. Follows the movie except for the ending.


**Sorry if this is terrible; it's my first fanfic. This is just a short fic about the scene where Maurice is being taken away to go to the asylum. It pretty much sticks to the actual movie, except at the end I inserted a few extra lines for Gaston and the townspeople. The last time I saw this scene, I thought, "Wouldn't a small village like that in those times consider the magic mirror witchcraft?" and that basically led to this little fic. Enjoy!**_  
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* * *

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

_Who could be knocking at the door?_ I wondered as I got up to answer it. Standing there was Monsieur D'Arque. _What was he doing here?_

"May I help you?"

"I've come to collect your father." he said menacingly, stepping aside. Resting just beyond our cottage was a carriage with the "Asylum D'Loons" logo on it. My heartbeat quickened with panic.

"My father?" I repeated nervously, my eyes wideningly slightly.

"Don't worry, mademoiselle," he said as he noticed this change. "We'll take good care of him." His words didn't convince me of any "noble" intentions he might've had.

"My father's not crazy!" I responded, rather shrilly. _They can't take him away, they just can't!_ I heard another voice; coming from outside was LeFou's voice:

"He was raving like a lunatic! We all heard him, didn't we!" he shouted. _How many people are here!?_ I thought frantically.

"Yeah!" the crowd of people cheered. _This can't be happening...!_

"No, I won't let you!" I shouted to all of the people. My father emerged from the cottage behind me. "Belle?" he questioned. Before I could answer or explain, LeFou taunted, "Ah, Maurice. Tell us again, old man, just how big was this beast?"

"Well, he was...that is...enormous! I'd say at least eight--no, more like ten feet!" my father exclaimed. I wanted to stop him, I wanted to tell him not to say anything, that for his sake and mine he should just keep quiet and we could pretend that the truth never happened! But it was too late. The crowd laughed at him.

"Well, you don't get much crazier than that!" LeFou scoffed at him.

"It's true, I tell you!" my father protested. _Father, please don't say another word..._

It didn't matter. Monsieur D'Arque waved his arms and my father was picked up and taken towards the wagon. "Take him away!" LeFou shouted.

"Let go of me!" My father struggled to break free, but it was futile. He couldn't fight his way out of it, not after being sick from falling in the snow earlier. I had to do something:

"No, you can't do this!" Monsieur D'Arque ignored me and walked away.

My chest was constricted, tangled in a knot; I knew I had to do something more but before I could figure out the best approach to convincing the townspeople my father wasn't crazy, Gaston stepped towards me. _The last person I need in a crisis..._

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor Belle...it's a shame about your father." he said to me, with a hint of "there's-more-to-come."

"You know he's not crazy, Gaston!" I was letting my anger get to me, but I couldn't help it. My father and I were the only ones who knew the truth about the Beast, and my father was getting imprisoned in an asylum for being honest.

"I might be able to clear up this little misunderstanding, if..." Gaston's voice trailed off, waiting for me to answer: "If what?"

"If you marry me." Gaston grinned maliciously.

"What!?" I was so taken aback by his proposition.

"One little word, Belle. That's all it takes." He awaited my answer anxiously, but it was the same as the last time he'd asked me: "Never!"

Gaston snorted. "Have it your way." He turned around and pretended to pout with hurt. My father was thrown into the carriage. "Belle?" he whimpered as he looked at me for help. It pained me to see him this way, but I couldn't marry Gaston when I really loved...

* * *

As I dashed back into the house, I heard my father yell, "Let go of me!" _This might be a crazy idea,_ I thought to myself, _but it's the only way to prove he's telling the truth._

I grabbed the magic mirror and ran back outside. "My father's not crazy and I can prove it!" I yelled to the crowd. They all turned their heads away from my father to look at me. I faced the mirror and said, "Show me the Beast." The mirror emitted a bright green light, and then showed the image of the depressed Beast. I held up the mirror for all to see the truth. The crowd gasped, and oohed and aahed at it. A woman in the crowd asked frightfully, "Is it dangerous?"

"Oh, no. He'd never hurt anyone," I reassured her. I then addressed the crowd: "Please, I know he looks vicious, but he's really kind and gentle. He's my friend." At the last line, I pulled the face of the mirror away from the crowd and towards me.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you have feelings for this monster." Gaston sneered. My look of adoration faded as I lifted my head to look at Gaston.

"He's no monster, Gaston! You are!" I shouted at him. Gaston snatched the mirror from my hand as he yelled, "She's as crazy as the old man!" With that, I was snatched away and thrown into the carriage with my father. Gaston was saying something else, but the one opening in the carriage was small and I couldn't hear what he was saying.

"I can't believe Belle! I mean, I knew she was odd, but...witchcraft!? The nerve of her!" a woman said in response.

"That's why they deserve to be locked up in an asylum! And, I mean really, how dare she love a beast!" a man responded.

The chatting and the whispering continued. I tried to listen to what the townspeople were saying, but it was too difficult.

"...bestiality!"

"Betraying Gaston..."

"...how dare she? She should consider herself lucky he proposed to her!"

"That little witch! Why if I were her..."

"...beast probably put a spell on her!"

"I say we KILL THE BEAST!" Gaston shouted.


End file.
